Christian Paranormal Thriller for Teens
What if the classmates you cared about were being haunted by monsters?
What if these monsters were forcing your friends into self-destructive behavior—and only you could see them?
And what if it were up to you to convince everyone of the truth?
Welcome to The Sword and Story Podcast—where we help Christian families find exciting, faith-filled books for their boys.
Our mission is to raise strong, courageous warriors for the Kingdom of God. Join us on a quest to discover stories that inspire our boys to grow into godly young men.
I’m your host, Laurie Christine. I’m an author, bible teacher, wife, and mom to four wild, wonderful, boys. I’m the author of the Dragon Slayer Bible Series, adventure-packed biblical fiction and devotions for middle-grade boys.
Our guest author today is Laura Gallier.
Laura Gallier is a national speaker, award-winning author, and film producer. Her inspiring life story empowers students and parents to overcome enemies of the soul.
Laura’s award-winning fiction series, The Delusion, is in preparation for feature film.
Laura also hosts the Reality of the Deception with Laura Gallier podcast.
The Delusion series
Christian Paranormal Thriller for Teens
The Delusion is the first book in the Delusion series.
By March of Owen Edmonds’s senior year, eleven students at Masonville High School have committed suicide. Amid the media frenzy and chaos, Owen tries to remain levelheaded—until he endures his own near-death experience and wakes to a distressing new reality.
The people around him suddenly appear to be shackled and enslaved.
Owen frantically seeks a cure for what he thinks are crazed hallucinations, but his delusions become even more sinister. An army of hideous, towering beings, unseen by anyone but Owen, are preying on his girlfriend and classmates, provoking them to self-destruction.
Owen eventually arrives at a mind-bending conclusion: he’s not imagining the evil—everyone else is blind to its reality. He must warn and rescue those he loves . . . but this proves to be no simple mission. Will he be able to convince anyone to believe him before it’s too late?
Owen’s heart-pounding journey through truth and delusion will force him to reconsider everything he believes. He both longs for and fears the answers to questions that are quickly becoming too dangerous to ignore.
More Books in The Delusion Series by Laura Gallier
TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW
The Delusion series by Laura Gallier
Laurie Christine: Laura Gallier, welcome to the Sword and Story podcast.
Laura Gallier: Thank you for having me. Thank you for this platform.
Introducing the Guest
Laurie Christine: I am excited to hear about your book series today. Before we move forward, I want to give our listeners a quick disclaimer. We are going to be discussing some heavy topics in today’s episode, so you might want to listen to this episode on your own before listening with kids around.
Before we get into anything too intense, Laura, can you introduce yourself to our listeners and tell us a little bit about yourself?
Laura Gallier: Thank you for having me. I am a wife and a mom. My two daughters have flown the coop and are grown and married. One of them has my little grandson and a baby girl on the way. So I am in that remarkable life season. We also have a sophomore in high school, our son, who is still with us. We know how fast it goes, so we are making the most of that time.
I do write, I speak, and I have a podcast, so lots is going on. As you mentioned, the Delusion series is entering production soon, as the paperwork is currently being drafted with the director and production company. So lots is going on in this season.
Laurie Christine: That is exciting to have grandchildren while you are still in the parenting stage as well. That is a fun balance to have.
In your bio, you mentioned that you have an inspiring life story that empowers students and parents. I have not heard your story and I am very curious. Could you give us a brief overview of what it is about your life story that is inspiring and how you use that in your ministry?
Laura Gallier’s Personal Story
Laura Gallier: Thank you for inviting me to share that. I grew up with a single mom. My parents separated when my mom was pregnant with me, and she never remarried. So I grew up in a fatherless home. As so often is the case with young girls, by the time I was in junior high, I was so desperate for validation and a sense of being loved that I turned that toward boyfriends and young men.
Sexual activity started for me in middle school and continued throughout high school. I had an unplanned pregnancy in college, dropped out of college. The relationship was not healthy, but I got married because I did not want my little girl to not have a father like I did not have. Unfortunately, the relationship crumbled under the weight of dysfunction, and I ended up divorced at 22 years old. Here I was, a single mom, and I could not figure out how I had gotten into this situation where the very thing I had not wanted had happened.
I came to understand at that defining moment that God’s commandments are for my protection, not my restriction. I had prayed at a friend’s house in elementary school to receive Christ, but I was by no means discipled or raised in church or in biblical truth. So as a young single mom in my early 20s, I got really serious. I got tired of calling Jesus my Savior but not esteeming Him as my Lord, and I began to literally practice what I preach.
At that time, I overcame a lot of things, ended up getting married and doing things God’s way, and started very young — in my mid-20s — talking about God’s biblical plan for sexuality and relationships.
Many years later, back in 2019, all this childhood trauma I really did not know I had and had suppressed came exploding onto the scene of my life. I went through a real battle with depression and the very things that I had written about in my fiction series: battling suicidal thoughts and fear of epic proportions, along with a lot of dysfunction and unhealthy ways I had learned to cope with life. Hence the term “enemies of the soul.”
In walking that out and overcoming those things based on God’s grace and goodness, I have a lot to say about mental and emotional health, sexuality, family, parenting, and many other things I have learned along the way.
Laurie Christine: Thank you so much for sharing that. It is amazing to see God’s faithfulness through your story and His care along the way. He never abandoned you and always had a plan while walking with you through that. I am sure your story has inspired so many students and parents. It is very interesting that those very topics are some of the things you covered in your book before you experienced them yourself. We are going to dive into some of those topics today.
The Delusion Series: Age Range and Content
Laurie Christine: Your Delusion series deals with the topics of suicide, depression, and spiritual warfare. There are definitely some heavy topics for readers. What age group would you recommend this series for? I am guessing not younger children.
Laura Gallier: Really middle school and up. Of course every student is different in their maturity level. As someone who is such an advocate of sexual integrity and biblical sexuality, there is none of that in the books — no inappropriateness in that way. But there are heavy themes that are reality for teenagers. They are going to school, and this stuff is really happening. It is by no means meant to traumatize. If anything, we have seen the books saving lives as young people realize the demonic nature behind those suicidal thoughts and are able to overcome those things with the love of God. It can be healthy, but I often recommend that parents read it first and then make the determination based on their child’s maturity level if they are in that young teen age.
Laurie Christine: That is good advice. I will attest that parents will want to read it. It is an excellent story. I started the first book and I am partway through it. It has me hooked. It is a really good story.
Addressing Heavy Topics: Suicide and Depression
Laurie Christine: Before we get into the story itself, the topic of suicide and depression in the book is a heavy topic for teens today. It used to not be something for this age, but that is just not true anymore. My son is in eighth grade and 13 years old. There was a kid on his wrestling team that committed suicide in junior high. He was 13 years old, and it just blows my mind. What are these kids dealing with that they would come to that at such a young age? It is so sad. This book is very relevant for our kids and teens because they are dealing with this.
I am curious, Laura, do you have any advice for our parents listening? Two scenarios: one, maybe their kids have experienced a friend who committed suicide. Any advice on dealing with a situation like that? And secondly, maybe your own child is struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide. Do you have thoughts for parents, warning signs that their teen is struggling, and what next steps they should take?
Laura Gallier: I am a huge proponent of a holistic approach. We do have chemicals in our bodies, and they are particularly tied to our thought life. We do have belief systems and psychology, and that was huge for me — to renew my mind in this process of inner healing. We also have a spiritual enemy, and the Bible is very clear about that. We are in a war between truth and lies.
When we get stuck only on the chemical and psychology side and overlook the spiritual war being waged — because we are worth so much, because we are made in God’s image — these lies come in. The issue of suicide epitomized believing satanic lies. That is why I chose that issue. God knew exactly what He was doing, and it would come to the forefront.
Helping our students see not only the worldview of mental health but all issues of life as involving this amazing, loving God and also an enemy is important. We are in a war between truth and lies. That is the paradigm we need. Even our emotions will partner with lies, and lies will feel true while the truth will feel like a lie.
As far as actual warning signs, one of the most important things we can do as parents is invest the right amount of time relationally. Not just surface-level talking about homework or chores, but really having meaningful conversations. Go out for coffee, grab ice cream, or bring them into the kitchen for coffee or hot cocoa. Listen to how they answer this question: Do you like yourself? Do you love yourself? How do you feel about you? That is where the shame, the lies, and the demonic attack come on their identity.
My own son at one point said, “If I were God, I do not think I would love me.” We have had to walk through what makes us worthy of love and coming out of performance. We have such a performance-oriented culture, but that is really the curse of humanity ever since we ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
It is how they answer the question about how they feel about themselves. Are they appropriating God’s love to themselves?
Laurie Christine: That is such a good question for kids and adults too. As parents it is important to help them understand why they have value. It is not just because of what they look like or what they can do or their talents. They have intrinsic value because of who God made them to be and because of their value in Christ. That is great advice.
I love that you talked about the fact that yes, there are chemical processes involved with depression and to absolutely get psychiatric and medical help if a child is struggling with depression. But there is also that spiritual side where the enemy uses that to attack and bombard us with lies. That is something I emphasize in my books in the Dragon Slayer Bible series as well. It is all about identifying the lies of the dragon. How is the enemy lying to you? How is he trying to twist God’s truth to make you believe something that is not true about God or about yourself?
A practice that I do personally and teach others is to make a list: What lies am I believing right now? Sometimes you do not even know it is a lie. Sometimes you know it is a lie but you still believe it. Then replace those lies with the truth of God’s word.
Laura Gallier: Shame equates to self-hatred. When we have condemning self-hating thoughts, we release negative chemicals that are depressing. It binds our emotions. That is why cognitively you know it is a lie, but emotionally it feels true. That is where the renewal of the mind comes in that the Bible talks about. We are transformed by the renewing of our mind. It really is a process of focusing on the truth. God has the answers that the world needs desperately.
Overview of The Delusion Series
Laurie Christine: I love that you address those truths in your series. Let’s talk about the Delusion series. There are three books in the series so far. The first book is called The Delusion. It is a paranormal thriller. Tell us about the series. Give us an overview of the plot, what happens, and what we can expect.
Laura Gallier: Our protagonist is Owen Edmonds. He is a senior in high school being raised by a single mom who is an alcoholic. He is cynical. He has not one shred of faith or belief in God or any biblical knowledge whatsoever. He is relatively new to Masonville High, which has the highest suicide rate in the country. He just wants to graduate and get out of there.
He is pretty indifferent. He does not know all these students very well who are taking their own lives. Then he has his own near-death experience and begins to see what he considers first hallucinations. He thinks he has lost his mind, but then comes to understand them as monsters. He has no biblical worldview to see them for what they are, which is demons.
It follows Owen’s path from faithlessness to faith. How ironic that the one with no faith becomes the one needing to warn his classmates that this unseen reality is in fact real and that they are in danger. It is up to him to rescue his classmates and warn them.
Laurie Christine: It is such an exciting book. When I first read the description, I wondered if it was okay for my kids. But I want to assure our parents listening that this book won a Christy Award, one of the top awards in Christian fiction. It is also published by Tyndale, one of the leading publishers of Christian fiction. Those things, along with Laura’s background and character, sold me on giving it a chance.
Parents, depending on your child, I think it is definitely a book your boys would enjoy — especially if they are dealing with some of these issues. It could open up great conversations about spiritual warfare, depression, and suicide.
What would you say about the level of graphic violence or death scenes? Are the suicides happening on screen or off screen? Just so our listeners have an idea of the intensity.
Laura Gallier: It is a balance because you need description to be a good author, but we certainly did not want to traumatize or glorify the darkness. We could have played it safe and appealed only to the Christian mom, but we are going after the unsaved with this story.
What motivated me to write The Delusion was the need to expose the reality of spiritual warfare. As I would speak to students, there can be such apathy when we think it is just about being a good boy or good girl. We do not recognize there really is an enemy and we really are in a war.
We see this in our boys and girls too. We are wired for battle and conflict, but we get pacified and our faith becomes flimsy. The story gives a profound sense of the reality of that war that supercharges our faith, shakes off complacency, and allows us to have the right priorities. It is descriptive without being traumatic. In the movie we are avoiding showing suicide or anything that would traumatize the audience.
Laurie Christine: Reading it myself, I agree that it helps the reader visualize the invisible war happening all around us. Stories like this make it real and help us understand how evil forces play a role in our lives.
One of the questions we always talk about on the show is: How will your book help boys to be strong, courageous warriors for the kingdom of God? I know you have written the book with a message of hope and truth. What would you say to that?
Laura Gallier: I believe it will open their eyes to the fact that we are in a real war and the costs could not be higher when we are talking about human souls. That takes courage. Little boys run around in superhero capes because they love the idea of it, but there is a real-world war going on for the souls of man. That is empowering and exciting.
We see that Owen is very respectful of a young lady who practices her faith and has strong boundaries. As the series continues, we see Owen dabbling in some paranormal things he should not, like witchcraft, which is trendy these days. He learns lessons the hard way but ultimately takes a stand and grows in his faith. It is not unrealistic — overnight he is not suddenly a choir boy — but he asks really hard questions. He does not stick his head in the sand. He wants to know why.
That inspires our boys to be critical thinkers and to know it is okay to have doubts. At one point Owen gets frustrated about why angelic beings do not intervene more. That is a real question we could wrestle with. We see a lot of virtue growing in Owen as he is authentic about his faith journey. He refuses drugs and alcohol because he hates it due to his mother being an alcoholic. That is another good example he sets.
Laurie Christine: I appreciate that you have an authentic character who is struggling with real issues and doubts. Our boys have struggles and they want to see characters who struggle but overcome them and grow in their faith.
There are three books in the series so far: The Delusion, The Deception, and The Defiance. You mentioned there might be some more coming down the road?
Laura Gallier: At least two more. There is the right timing for that. We would love to release book four with the timing of the movie.
The Movie Adaptation
Laurie Christine: Do you have a timeline for the movie and when it is going to be available? Will it be in theaters?
Laura Gallier: We are still discussing specific distribution, but our goal from day one has always been widespread and substantial. We could have made the movie by now if we did it smaller scale. That is not coming from entitlement but from the value of the message, the need, and the relevance.
Right now paperwork is in process, so it is not signed. Should all things work out as we are expecting, we would go to production in the fall of 2026 and have a movie in the fall of 2027, if not late spring 2027. If we do our job right, you will hear about it because it will be promoted. You can sign up on my website for updates and add your name to the Delusion registry that says you want to see this movie. That helps us show demand when negotiating with distribution companies.
Laurie Christine: That is so exciting. I will definitely circle back and let our listeners know when the movie comes out. Laura, please feel free to reach out when it is here. I would be happy to help promote it.
Closing and Resources
Laurie Christine: I am going to read the back cover of the first book, The Delusion, just so you get an idea.
By March of Owen Edmonds’ senior year, 11 students at Masonville High School have committed suicide. Amid the media frenzy and chaos, Owen tries to remain level-headed, until he endures his own near-death experience and wakes to a distressing new reality. The people around him suddenly appear to be shackled and enslaved. Owen frantically seeks a cure for what he thinks are crazed hallucinations, but his delusions become even more sinister. An army of hideous, towering beings unseen by anyone but Owen are preying on his girlfriend and classmates, provoking them to self-destruction. Owen eventually arrives at a mind-bending conclusion: He is not imagining the evil. Everyone else is blind to its reality. He must warn and rescue those he loves. But this proves to be no simple mission. Will he be able to convince anyone to believe him before it is too late? Owen’s heart-pounding journey through truth and delusion will force him to reconsider everything he believes. He both longs for and fears the answers to questions that are quickly becoming too dangerous to ignore.
So be sure to check out The Delusion by Laura Gallier.
Laura, it has been such a pleasure having you on the show today. Where can our listeners find out more about you and find your books?
Laura Gallier: LauraGallier.com (L-A-U-R-A G-A-L-L-I-E-R) has links to my podcast, Reality of the Delusion, links to the books which are easy to buy on Amazon or at major bookstores. If they do not have it on the shelves, they will get it for you. The registry for the Delusion movie is also at LauraGallier.com or you can go to DelusionSeries.com. Your prayers and support are much appreciated.
Laurie Christine: Tell us briefly about your podcast as well.
Laura Gallier: Last summer I started Reality of the Delusion. I always give an update on the wild ride that is the film journey and what is going on from one week to the next. Then I take topics as the Lord puts on my heart. We are recognizing deception, realizing our worth, and righting what is wrong according to how we are uniquely designed and called. I absolutely love doing that. It is one of the highlights of things God has called me to do.
Laurie Christine: We will have links to your podcast as well as your website and books in the show notes. Laura, thank you so much for joining us on the Sword and Story podcast.
Laura Gallier: Thank you so much, and I cannot wait to read your books. They just sound very intriguing.
Laurie Christine: Thank you. I appreciate that.
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